Asher reared up, raining blows down on Beckford that did nothing to dissipate his anger on behalf of Felicity.
“Stop!”
He was torn away from Beckford and he watched as Dane jumped on Beckford, tying his arms behind his back.
“You’re under arrest for murder,” Dane growled. “And crimes against the crown.”
Beckford stared wildly at him, then at Asher. “Arrest? What crimes against the crown?”
Dane leaned in. “The ones in that book. You want out of that charge? You want to be transported instead of hanged for treason? That can be arranged. But you need to tell me where the damned book is.”
Beckford’s shoulders slumped. “I’m tired of running. My cousins both got what they deserved. Let their names be tarnished by charges of treason. The book is behind the bed. There’s a false panel.”
Asher moved to it, thrusting the small bed aside and tugging at the boards until he found the broken one. He tossed it away and there was the book. Such a small thing, really, a leather-bound item, tied shut with a worn ribbon. And yet it held the futures of so many.
Including the woman he loved.
He held it up and showed it to Dane. “Open it,” Dane said. “Be certain.”
He did so and said, “The code looks the same. How did you break it?”
Beckford clamped his mouth shut. “Why should I give you more?”
“Because if you don’t, your life can be made miserable,” Dane said, shaking him hard.
Beckford gasped out pain from his injury. “All right, all right. The code is from the Bible.”
“Book code.” Dane drew back. “Asher, you’re bleeding.”
Asher lifted his hand and touched his face. He brought blood down from his right cheek and shook his head. “Must have been when we rolled into the chairs. It doesn’t hurt.” He turned on Beckford. “Now tell me, whose secrets did you sell to Fitzgilbert?”
Beckford smiled. “You can figure it out yourself. I’ve given you enough.”
“You son of a—” Asher growled, moving toward him.
“Stop,” Dane said, his tone sharp and dangerous.
“How can I stop when he—”
“You need to calm down,” Dane interrupted, cutting off what Asher would say next. “Before you make things worse.Weneed to get this man to my superiors. Then we’ll figure out what to do next.”
Dane tugged Beckford up and none too gently shoved him into the hall. But as Asher followed, he had no doubt what they would do next. Go back to Felicity. And pray that her secrets were still in this book. That all wasn’t lost.
Chapter Fifteen
Felicity looked up from her book as Celia Dane entered Stenfax’s parlor. She smiled at her friend, but the expression quickly fell as she saw fear and worry on Celia’s face. She placed a marker between the pages and got up.
“What is it?” she asked. “Did you find out where John and Asher went?”
They had arrived after their lunch with her mother to find the men gone with no explanation. Now Celia’s expression made her heart throb.
“Yes,” Celia said. “It appears Asher’s contact in my grandfather’s home has come through. There was a missive from him left on Stenfax’s desk with a quick note in John’s hand saying they were going to follow the courier.”
Felicity sat back down in her chair, hard enough that her teeth clacked together. “So they are off to see if they can find Beckford. Find the book.”
Celia drew in a ragged breath. “The others wanted to come in with me to tell you, but I thought it would be better just from me.”
Felicity nodded slowly. “Yes. They mean well, but they would circle me and question me and three different people would keep bringing me tea and it would be overwhelming.”
